The Southern Genome Maintenance Conference will be held October 20-21, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama. This would be the 1st in what we hope is an biennial event at different cities around the Gulf Coast and Southern US region (every other year), with the next meeting scheduled for 2020. This first conference will be held at the Holiday Inn conference center (Downtown Mobile, historic district). We have commitments from colleagues to host future conferences in Atlanta, New Orleans and two locations in Miami. The general meeting layout would be a focus on three sessions and themes that resonate strongly with those in this region due to health disparities in cancer and disease as well as the regional impact of the environment on the population living in the gulf coast region: (1) DNA repair, genome integrity and cancer therapy; (2) Environmental influences of genomic integrity and (3) DNA repair, disease and health disparities. The correlation between DNA repair, mutagenesis, environmental exposure and the progression of various diseases including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders, has been studied for decades. It has been proposed that all cancers display defects in one of more DNA repair pathways, lending importance to the discussion of this topic at the Southern Genome Maintenance Conference. Another factor that influences the interplay between DNA repair and the resulting mortality rates from disease is health disparities. The Southern Genome Maintenance Conference will include the participation of researchers from states such as Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida and others. Notable new findings that will be discussed will lead to an increased momentum in driving basic and translational research within this region, across disciplines and universities. Therefore, a major goal of this meeting is to foster collaborative research on the cellular processes that affect genomic instability in cancer, upon environmental exposure and as a result of health disparities. Further, a key objective of the meeting is to provide an environment for both early career and senior investigators to communicate their latest results on relevant scientific topics, to promote collaboration within and across disciplines and to enhance the development of the next generation of researchers.